NJ Spotlight News
Towns brace for more Passaic River flooding
Clip: 1/11/2024 | 4m 42sVideo has Closed Captions
More rain is forecast for the weekend
After a major storm moved through New Jersey on Tuesday and Wednesday, the waters are still rising on the Passaic River. Gov. Phil Murphy and other elected officials visited Little Falls on Thursday morning, where the river is expected to crest in major flood stage overnight. More rain is in the forecast for the weekend.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
NJ Spotlight News is a local public television program presented by THIRTEEN PBS
NJ Spotlight News
Towns brace for more Passaic River flooding
Clip: 1/11/2024 | 4m 42sVideo has Closed Captions
After a major storm moved through New Jersey on Tuesday and Wednesday, the waters are still rising on the Passaic River. Gov. Phil Murphy and other elected officials visited Little Falls on Thursday morning, where the river is expected to crest in major flood stage overnight. More rain is in the forecast for the weekend.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch NJ Spotlight News
NJ Spotlight News is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipWell, the rain may have ended, but weary residents are at risk of even more flooding tonight.
That's when major rivers like the Passaic are expected to crest above flood stage, posing a threat to the town of Little Falls and other low lying areas near it.
According to the latest models from the National Weather Service, another pain point along the Passaic is in the Pine Brook section of Montville in Morris County.
Neighbors of the Raritan River in Somerset County are still cleaning up and drying out.
The towns of Bound Brook and Manville coming to terms with their damage.
The folks in Lodi, too.
Dozens were displaced in Delran and other towns along the Delaware River in Burlington County.
And the threat for more flooding lingers into the weekend.
That's when forecasters say yet another storm system could drop between 1 to 2 inches of more rain, all starting tomorrow night.
The National Weather Service this afternoon issuing a flood watch for 11 counties.
Governor Murphy today surveyed storm ravaged areas and Melissa Rose Cooper was there.
This part of town that is a relentless flutter.
It flooded three weeks ago.
It's flooding.
I'm standing on water as we speak.
It's we've seen this movie too many times.
Governor Murphy joining other elected and local officials today in Little Falls, just days after heavy rains moved through the Garden State, leaving many communities to deal with rising floodwaters.
I said this of Lodi last night of a back and forth with mayors.
This morning, just checking in on them, Franklin Township, Hillsborough and other communities.
We're seeing the same movie again and again and again.
So in the short term, let me say unequivocally, we're here for you.
The latest storm happening just weeks after rainfall caused the Passaic River to spill over, forcing families out of their homes.
Now residents are bracing themselves yet again as the river is expected to crest overnight, creating dangerous conditions.
This area could very well be under 18 to 24 inches of water.
This area where we're standing was under that much water three weeks ago.
And yeah, we are again, we're prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best right now.
And right now, it's based upon current predictions of the gauges, which may be off by a little bit.
We are hoping they are overestimating and they will the river will under deliver the amount of water.
That police got.
The first responders here have been on top of this situation from day one.
We in the sheriff's department and also as county, oh, we have coordinator will be here to continue that support and we're hoping that we get through this.
The hardest part is with the last crest.
So you've got to wait three days for the flood.
Bob Dombroski has been living in Little Falls since the 1960s.
He says many residents can't afford to pay thousands of dollars a year for flood insurance and feels the state isn't doing enough to support homeowners impacted by flooding.
Well, then he comes now, three weeks later.
Man, did you go knock on these people's doors?
Did you ask them, did they have utilities?
What Where did they go during the floods?
There are leaders you should not really like.
I know a great mayor, Dom Jago, who's part time to a guy.
We need leadership from the top.
The governor also announcing the state has a mitigation team.
Will earmark $10 million in this fiscal year under the Swift current program to help homeowners affected by last month's flooding.
But he admits more still needs to be done without buyouts being an immediate solution.
So these are not the only weapons at our disposal in the in the medium and long term.
We need big resiliency investments.
Whether that's dredging rivers or redirecting currents, you know, bigger sort of bigger picture things.
But both of those weapons are available.
So the Blue Acres program to buy folks out or to elevate your home.
The problem that James points out is with the buyout option, you lose rebels in town.
And so it becomes sort of a a downward spiral, which you don't want to get into, particularly in a community where overwhelmingly which overwhelmingly doesn't flood.
So the answer is we're going to turn over every stone we can, whether it's state, money, county, perhaps, guys.
And the biggest bucket of money in all this is going to be the feds.
More rain is expected Friday into Saturday, which is leading to additional concerns.
But officials say they're doing everything they can to make sure residents have access to the necessary resources to keep them safe.
For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Cooper.
Atlantic City murders bring call for public's help
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/11/2024 | 4m 19s | Four homicides in one week sparks police response -- and internal debate (4m 19s)
Chief mate recounts Port Newark ship fire at hearing
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/11/2024 | 4m 12s | An official with the company in charge of loading the ship also gave testimony (4m 12s)
Christie's exit from presidential race and hot mic moment
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/11/2024 | 5m 4s | Interview: Matt Arco, NJ Advance Media (5m 4s)
Report: NJ should boost nursing education to stem shortage
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 1/11/2024 | 5m 5s | Interview: Edna Cadmus, New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing (5m 5s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipSupport for PBS provided by:
NJ Spotlight News is a local public television program presented by THIRTEEN PBS